Slow Roast Pork Belly, etc

Just the thought of it makes me salivate: slow roast pork belly...
This recipe by Nigella is slightly different than many other slow roast pork belly recipes I tried, but I fully trust Nigella (and who am I to question the Domestic Goddess?). When cooking pork belly, I normally start roasting it in a very hot oven to get the crackling going; and then turning it down to moderate, letting the meat to continue cooking for several hours. Well, this recipe is the other way round. Start in a moderate oven for several hours and then crank up the heat for the last half an hour to let the skin crisp to crunchy burnished perfection.

The meat has also been marinated overnight before cooking in a delicious mixture of tahini, soy sauce and lemon and lime juice.

To accompany the pork belly, we had stir-braised cabbage with pancetta and nigella seeds (I'll post this later) and mustard roasted potatoes, a recipe borrowed from my friend Jenn at Jenn's Food Journey. Thank you so much Jenn for sharing this recipe... the potatoes were utterly delicious. We all loved it.

And for something sweet to complete the afternoon, we had chocolate pear pudding. I know chocolate and pear are a match made in food heaven, but every time I bake this, I'm always surprised by how delicious they are together. It's like fresh discovery every time. This pudding is so easy to put together and bake and eat! Serve with well-chilled cream.

Never say I don't look after my friends...

Thank you Mark, Anna and Michelle for the great company. It's always a pleasure feeding all of you. And to my friend, Kelly, get well soon. You were missed.

Time for a cup of tea and a little nap I think...